McLeish talks group stage draw, Kahraba and El-Shennawy

Zamalek manager Alex McLeish said that he is not concerned which teams his side will play in the group stage of the 2016 CAF Champions League.

Zamalek are awaiting the last eight draw after surpassing a hard-fought tie against MO Béjaïa of Algeria 3-1 on aggregate, coming victorious 2-0 in Cairo and clinching a 1-1 draw in Algeria.

“I am happy with defeating MO Béjaïa who are a strong team that enjoy a great team spirit and a huge desire to win,” McLeish told reporters on Wednesday.

He also added that his team played the match under difficult conditions as the fans of the Algerian side were loud through out the entire 90 minutes.

“I don’t care about the draw or what teams we get, the MO Béjaïa match was the bottleneck and winning it will give the team the motives to advance to the next stages and fight for the trophy,” he added.

The Scottish manager has expressed his surprise of the criticism that Mahmoud Abdel-Moneim ‘Kahraba’ has been getting; confirming that the role the Zamalek forward plays is instrumental.

“He is an outstanding player who does what he is asked and I am surprised that people are annoyed that I play him as a lone striker,” he added.

The 57-year-old also praised the team’s goalkeepers Ahmed El-Shennawy and Mahmoud Abdel-Rahim “Gennesh”, as his side clinched the draw thanks to the heroic saves of both keepers.

“They are two of the best goalkeepers in the league and as they shine, they manage to boost the squad’s confidence,” he concluded.